by Vicki Tardif

Last year, I did a lot of reading about CSAs. Much of the literature pointed to the benefits of joining: supporting local agriculture, reducing your carbon footprint, and understanding the chemicals (if any) that are used to grow your vegetables. But, one of the nagging questions I had was cost. If getting my produce from a CSA costs significantly more than what I pay at my local grocery store, then CSAs will never be more than a fad for the affluent. Any viable solution must be affordable to lower- and middle-class Americans.

When we joined the CSA last spring, I hoped that we would break even, but to be honest, I was not sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised when we did the analysis and found that we actually saved money by joining the CSA. Granted, this was data from one CSA over one growing season, but it showed that it is not outside the realm of possibility to get organic, locally-grown vegetables for less than it costs to buy similar items at the grocery store.

With that said, I appreciate that we are in a position that many Americans are not: we were able to pay for our groceries up front. Most CSAs require that members pay at the beginning of the season, so that they can purchase seeds and other supplies to plant their crops. It took some shuffling, but we were able to come up with the membership fee without too large a hardship. For many Americans, particularly the working poor, this is impossible. For this reason, I still struggle with the idea of CSAs being the be-all and end-all of answers to the question of how we feed a nation.

Uprising Farm in Bellingham, Washington is working on a solution to this problem that works for both the farm and local people on federal food stamps. The farm applied to the USDA to qualify to accept Electronic Benefit Transfers (EBT). Federal food stamps are issued on electronic cards that resemble a credit card. As part of the program, Uprising Farm received a card reader. Every week, members swipe their EBT cards, and the food stamp funds are automatically transferred to the farm.

Unfortunately, the program does not completely fit the CSA model. The USDA does not allow contracts for food purchases; instead, the food stamps must be used week-to-week. Uprising Farm had to apply to the USDA as a “farm stand”. The farm still considers all of these people to be “members”, but it is unclear to me if Uprising Farm still functions as a CSA. One of the chief benefits to CSA farmers is that they are guaranteed an income at the beginning of the season. Under this model, that guarantee no longer holds. For this reason, I do not expect most CSAs to following Uprising Farm’s lead, but this sort of creative thinking is what will lead to better answers to the question of how we feed a nation while still protecting our environment.